Afghan special force on cards to address threats

WASHINGTON (PAN): The Obama administration has agreed to help Afghanistan build an exclusive special operations force to deal with internal and external security threats.

An agreement was reached on creating the Foundation Force for Afghanistan during President Hamid Karzai’s visit to Washington, officials familiar with the three-day deliberations told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Notably, there was no mention of it either in the joint statement or the public statements made by the leaders of the two countries.

Sources said the modalities of the force would be discussed by commanders of the two countries and a formal decision in this regard would be made in due course of time.

The force could be on the lines of the American marines, but some officials cautioned against such a comparison, pending the basic the nitty-gritty. It would be an elite force that would be capable of addressing both internal and outside threats, they said.

While the official would not comment on it, it is understood such a force, in the event of need, could take on cross-border incursions from Pakistan and Iran, or any threat from the enemy.

At bilateral talks, Pentagon raised the issue of Afghanistan’s oil imports from Iran. Senior officials have reportedly told the Afghan defence minister that his country could not use the American tax payers’ money to buy oil from Iran.

But the visiting delegation argued the amount of oil purchased from Iran was not significant. Afghanistan bought most of fuel from Central Asian nations, sources said.